Refining apparatus



July 28, 1925. 1,547,552

A. L. BAusMAN REFINING APPARATUS me@ Aug. 1a. 1922 2 sheets-simu 1 wwpN ATTORNEYS .my 2s, 1925. 1,547,552

A. l.. BAusM'AN REFINING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 18. 1922 2 Shoots-Sheet 2 INVENToR ATTORNEYS Patented July 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES rnrau'l"` oFHcE.

ALONZO L. BAUSMAN, OF SPRINGFIELD, lWASSACI-IUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL EQUIPMENT COMPANY, 0F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

REFINNG APPARATUS.

Application filed August 18, 1922. Serial N0. 582,788..

To all 107mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALoNzo L. BAUSMAN, citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Refining Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to refining vapparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus adapted for refining or conditioning chocolate and the like by rubbing action.

An example of the type of apparatus, with which this invention is concerned, is the so-called conge or Swiss rubbing machine and it consists essentially of a heavy roll, usually of granite, reciprocable upon a bed, also usually of granite, which bed forms the base of a tank containing the chocolate or other material to be refined. The conge has long been used by chocolate manufacturers and is well-known in the art.

In refining apparatus of this class, it has been found by experience that there is a definite limit in the size to which the tank may bc built. Beyond this limit, an increase in size reduces the efiiciency of the refining action. Therefore, it is not practical to provide for increased capacity by employing tanks of extra large size. Hence, instead of one large tank, it is preferable to use a number of smaller tanks in order to retain the highest efficiency in refiningthe chocolate. In large factories, Where such refining machinesare used in great numbers, this limitation of size now necessitates the occupaion of a large area of valuable floor space to accommodate the many small tanks.

Bearing in mind the necessity for the use of a number of units, efforts have been made toward grouping` a series of individual conges into a single machine which will afford a maximum aggregate capacity with a minimum of floor space and one example of such an arrangement is shown in United States Letters Patent No. 1,176,722, granted March 2l, 1916 on an invention of Frank H, Page in chocolate refining` apparatus. The apparatus disclosed in this patent is characterized by a double deck arrangement of conges, there .being two series of tanks arranged at different levels and two sets of driving mechanism 'and supporting frames therefor. This apparatus, while attaining` its object and affording the best arrangement of units from the point of View of economy in floor space, has not in lmany instances found favor with the trade because 'of the inconvenience in filling and en'iptyingl the tanks of the upper level at the stai-tand end of the refining operation and in inspecting the material in these tanks during the refining operation. Moreover, the apparatus, as described in said patent, necessitates a duplication of driving` mecha nism as Well asa duplication of tanks and therefore is more expensive to manufacture and is also open to the disadvantage of increased friction losses due to the increased number of parts in the driving` mechanism. In all the various grouping `arrangements heretofore used or proposed for conges, a waste space (in the sense that it cannot be used for chocolate) is provided between each pair of adjacent and opposed tanks, such space being utilized forthe driving mechanism which reciprocates the rubbing rolls. The proportion of the floor space occupied by such driving mechanism to the total floor space occupied by the entire machine is from twenty five to thirty per cent in the usual four unit machine. Up to the present time, so far as I am aware, it has not been considered possible to eliminate this waste spaceon account of the difficulty in ade,- quately supporting the driving mechanism, which is heavy and cumbersome, in proper relation to the conge tanks or, iny other words, it has been deemed a necessary evil that the driving mechanism should occupy floor space and prevent the utilization of such floor space for the reception of chocclate or other material to be refined. V

According to this invention, each conge tank is extended a substantial distance bei yond the tank opening to provide a shelf like portion and the driving` mechanism is superposed upon and supported from these shelf like portions of adjacent conge tanks.

According to another feature of the in# vent-ion, the conge tanks, which are arranged in one or more pairs, preferably have the tanks of each pair arranged with their ends in abutment, or substantially so, thereby eliminating any waste area between the tanks and providing for the maximum economy in utilizing the principles of this invention. When more than one pair of conge tanks areused the sidewalls of the tanks of one pair are disposed as closely as possible to the corresponding side walls of the adjacent pair so that practically all floor space occupied by the machine is usefully occupied by tanks for containing the material to be refined. y

According to a further feature of the invention, there is provided in each conge tank, in addition to the usual rubbing roll, one or more Scrapers, preferably of the swinging type, which are located in the end portions of the tank and function to peri-` odically scrape the chocolate from such end portions back into the central portion of the tank 'or into a location where it is again presented to the action of the rubbing roll. The utility of these scrapers, located as described, will best be appreciated when it is understood that the stroke of the rubbing roll has to be substantially commensurate with the length of the tank opening and, therefore, the lengthening out of the tank, as above described, results in spaces which would otherwise be dead spaces except for the Scrapers. That is, although the capacity of the tank isy increased by lengthening it the 'efficiency of the refining action would be 'somewhat impaired unless means are provided to insure that the chocolate in the end portions of the tank is presented to the actien 'of the rubbing roll.

Any one or more of the inventive features may be en'iployed 'as desired but the best re suits aire manifestly obtained by the use of all conjointly.

@ther objects' and advantages will appear in the following description and in the illustrative embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a front elevational view, partly in section, of a refining apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevational view thereof; y i

Fig. 3 is a plane view of the apparatus; Vand Fig. 4L is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of one of the conge tanks showing the rubbing roll and the fork by which it is reciprocated. y

Referring to these drawings', the apparatus preferably includes four units A, B, C and D, which are arranged in two opposed pairs,the units A and B constituting one pair and the units 'C and D the other pair. Both pairs of units are arranged in parallel relation,-one pair being located directly behind the other. All the units are located on the same level and are suitably supported, as from a floor. The two units of each pair are mounted in line with one `another and preferably abut, or substantially abut, end to end as shown. While one pair'of units alone may be used, the same driving mechanism is adequate for two pairs and accordingly the two pairs are generally desired, particularly as a better balanced and smoother acting mechanism is obtained, as will later appear. When two pairs of units are employed the second pair is preferably mounted side to side in abutting relation with the other pair.

All of the units referred to, are similar and a description of one will suffice for all. The unit B consists of a structure supported by legs 5 and affording a tank 6 for the reception of the material to be refined. The botton of the tank is usually slightly curved longitudinally and merges into end walls of pronounced and substantially semi-circular curvature. In the bottom wall of the tank, a bed 7 of suitable material, such as stone, is generally provided and upon and along this bed a roll 8 usually also of stone, is reciprocable. Roll 8 is reciprocated by means of a fork 9, the central Vupper portion of which extends upwardly through an opening 10 in the top of the tank for connection to reciprocabl'e mechanism, to be described. The opening 10 is made substantially equal in width to the tank to permit insertion of roll 8 and its length defines the limits of the stroke of roll 8. This opening, which is used for filling the tank with the material to be refined, is normally enclosed by cover l1, mounted in any suitable fashion so as to be conveniently removable. The refined material may be drained from the tank through a side outlet normally closed by Va vertically sliding gate 13, (shown on unit A) which is liftable by a handle 14 in an obvious manner to open the outlet and permit the material to flow therethrough overa sloping troughl into a suitable container'.

As distinguished from an ordinarv c'onge unit, the present one has been extended a substantial distance beyond the ends of opening l0 which increases the capacity of the tankand also allows a flat shelf-like portion 17 to be provided on one end. Such portion abuts and alines lwith a similar portion o-n the unit B and the two provide a base of adequate area to receive andV support an upstandinir side frame 18. Similar portions are 'provided `on the otherpair of units to support a second and similar but laterally spaced side frame.` These'two side frames support the driving mechanism, to bedescribed, and it is to be noted that tliefram'es are applied to the tops of the tanks and are superposed thereon as distinguished from being supported between them as has heretofore been customary. The present driving mechanism requires no exclusive use of floor space, as formerly, but on the contrary the floor space, which it occupies, is also used for tank space for the reception of material to be rened and is thus used usefully and economically.

The driving mechanism includes a crankshaft 20 which is rotatably mountel near its ends in the side frames 18 and extends beyond each of the latter to carry cranks 21 and 22, one fixed to each end thereof. Fixed on shaft 20 intermediate the frames 18 is a gear 23 which is driven by a pinion 24 fixed on a shaft 25,-the latter being the main power shaft and being driven in any suitable manner, as by belt connection to the tight and loose pulleys 26. The forks 9 of units A and B are rigidly connected to a common rod 26 and one of the forks 9 has an' arm 27 which extends vertically upwards through a longitudinal slot 28 provided in hood 11 and is pivotally -connected to one end of a link 29, the other end of which is connected to crank 21. The forks 9 of units C and D are similarly connected and driven from crank 22 which is mounted on shaft 20 at right angles to crank 21, the better to balance the operating mechanism, eliminate dead center difficulties and insure a smoother action in operation.

The scrapers, heretofore alluded to, are provided in the semi-cylindrical end portions of each conge tank and, as shown, two similar scrapers 30 and 31 are provided in each such end portion. Each scraper consists of a cross bar, herein shown of substantially triangular cross section, which is approximately equal in length to the width of tank 6. Each scraper is supported by radial arms 32 from a shaft 33 which passes through the conge tank and is journalled in the side walls thereof, substantially coincidental with the axis of curvature of the adjacent curved end portion of tank 6. The scrapers 30 and 31 are fixed to shaft 33 in right angular relation and this shaft is oscillated, by mechanism to be described, through an arc of ninety degrees so that the scraper 30 trav.

erses the upper half of the semi-circular end surface of tank 6 and the scraper 31 traverses the lower half. The two scrapers working in conjunction to traverse the entire end wall surface are not necessarily essential for all purposes and their work might obviously be accomplished by a greater or less number of scrapers operating through lesser o r greater ranges of travel.

All of the scraper shafts are oscillated from a common driving means and all the driving` mechanism is located in a comparatively narrow longitudinal space between the two pairs of units as is bestshown ing-Fig. 2.

This space is covered by flanges 35, one on each unit, which flanges abut as shown in Fig. 3 to form a complete covering for the space in which the scraper operating mechanism is located and thereby prevent any chocolate, which might be spilled or slopped over from the tanks, from falling into such space. sufficiently to carry a crank V36 and each crank of the front pair of units will lie opposite a crank of the rear pair of units so that there are four pairs of cranks, and the free ends of the cranks of each pair lie in close adj acency and are disposed in the same angular relation on their respective cranks. Accordingly, the cranks of each pair may be pivotally connected to a common member, such as 37, and all these members are fixed to a common reciprocable operating rod 38. The latter has fixed thereto a depending arm 39 which is connected by a link 40 to a crank arm 41. The latter is fixed to and rotated by a stub shaft 42, suitably supported in one of the conge units, and shaft 42 is driven through the medium of a chain 43 and sprockets 44 from the crankshaft 20, formerly described.

In addition to the scrapers just described, I prefer to provide other scrapers which traverse the longitudinal spaces between the Each shaft 30 extends into the latter i ends of rolls 8 and the adjacent side walls of tank 6. Necessarily the ends of rolls 8 cannot meet the sides of the tank on account of the forks 9 and I extend one arm of each fork downwardly, as indi-cated at 46, into close proximity to the bed 7 for this purpose.

The operation of the machine is the same as any conge, exc-ept for the scrapers described, and will be readily apparent. The scrapers 30 and 31 preferably assume the positions shown in the left hand end of unit B when roll 8 is at the end of its travel toward them and move from this position downwardly as roll 8 moves away from them, assuming the positions shown in the right hand end of unit B at the end of they last named stroke of travel.

The refining apparatus disclosed is characterized by a most economical utilization of floor space and the arrangement is such that there is very little of the occupied floor space but what is used for tank space. By lengthening out the tanks and providing the scrapers beyond the tanks, Iam enabled to increase the capacity of each conge unit, by more than double that heretofore thought feasible, without materially affecting the efficiency of the refining operation. For example, the conge tanks shown have an aggregate capacity of 4000 pounds of chocolate while those previously used had an aggre-Y gate capacity of 1600 pounds in a four unit machine or 3200 pounds in aneight unit double deck machine and yet the iioor space occupiedby the presentJ machine is aippre` ciably'less than that occupied by eitherof 2. Refining apparatus, comprising, a

group-consistingof pairs of conge units, the

units of eacltpair being-mountedendtoend in substantially abutting relation andf theI units ofone'pair being disposed sideto side `in substantially abutting relation with the units of the other pair, areciprocable rubebing roll in each tank, a' drivingjshaftr common to all the tanks, connectionsbetween sa'idlshaft( and each rollfor reciprocatingfthc latter, andsupportingf means for said shaft f ,superposed` substantially centrally uponthe top-wallsof said' group'of tanks and located" entirely above'the latter.

3. Refiningapparatus, comprising-,a pair of congetanks mounted end* toen'd ins-ubstantially abutting relation andeach having an opening in its top wall of less length than that of the tank, a rubbing roll reciprocable in each tank, an, operating member for eachrolll extending out of the tank througli saidV opening, a frame supported by the top walls ofthe tanks between said openings andi lon cated* entirely above the latter, a driving shaft mounted in said frame, and connections between said' shaft and' each of said operating members. v

`4t. Refining apparatus, comprising, a pair of conge tanks mounted end to endf in substantially abutting relation and each having an opening in its top wallofless lengththan that ofthe tank, a rubbing'roll reciprocable in each tank, an operating" member foreach roll extending out ofthe tank through said opening,means rigidly connecting said operating members, a frame supportedlby the top walls ofthe tanksbetween said openings and located entirely above the latter, a driving shaft mounted in saidA frame, and connections between said shaft and said means.

5. Refining apparatus, comprising, two conge tanks arranged' with their longitudinal axes in alinement, openings provided' in the tcpwall of each tank so disposed as to leave at'one end of each a shelf forming portion, beneath which aLportion or the tank extends,

i a frame supported partly on the shelf formingr portion' of?V one tank andf` partly; by theVv corresponding portion of; the other tank 'and located entirelyiabove thetanksaal roll re.-

ci pjrocable in each' tank, driving mechanism i mounted inV said frame, and connecting V701AV means between such mechanism and each rollto reciprocate the latter.

6. Refiningapparatus, comprising, conge tank, a roll movable back and forththereinf along the base,.a1forkfshapedimembenfr movingthe roll having a dependingarm .dise posedbetween each endfface ofitheiroll and an adjacent side walllof'thetank,andfscrap ing. means carried byeach arnn depending.` intoiclose'proximitytothe base: S9*

7. Refining apparatus, comprising, aconge` tank having a bedi and al portion extendingL beyond" the bed', a roll movable backz andi forthover thebed` andihaving a stroke lessl thanthat ofthe tank sothat itlcannotf trav.- ersesaid portion, and an oscillatory mem#` ber movable back andy forth overesaidl por-y tion simultaneously with the reciprocation ofsaidrollgvsaid member operable to move away from said* bed toward the outer exstremityof said portionastheroll approaches thereto andt'o move back toward theibed as the roll recedes to scrape backfthematerial,y

thrown onto the walls'off' saidlportion by ther approaching movement of saidi roll. 951

8. Refining apparatus, comprising, alcon'ge tankhaving afbed and'two oppositely: curved end walls disposed one atl each. endl of the bed, a roll'reciprocable back andi forth over said bed, and oscillatory` members mountedi for movement in paths entirely out ofthe path of said rolland associated onei` withV each end? wall andl arranged' tol traverse the same, eachofsaidlmembers arranged to move* outwardly along its end wall' asthe roll'` ap# proaches` thesame and to move back again as theroll recedesftoscrape back the material thrown against said wall44 bythe rollin its `movement of approach thereto;

93 Refining apparatus, comprising, a conge tank having a bed terminatingwith two oppositely located' curved# endi walls, a roll reciprocable back andl forth along the bed, two members mounted inright angular relation to swing back and? forth about the axis of curvature of each endl wall, and means for movi'ngggjsa-ifd roll andi members.

10. Refining apparatus, comprising," a conge tank having a bed terminating with two opposite'ly located curved end! walls, a4 roll reciprocable back andi for-th `along the bed, two members mounted in right angularl relation to swing backy and forth about theaxis of curvature of each end wall, the` members at one end of the tank being disposedl at right angles to the corresponding members at the other end of the tank.

1111*. RefiningY apparatus, comprising, two;` pairs of congetanks, thetanks'of each pairbeing longitudinally alined in end to end and abutting relation and the tanks of one pair being mounted in side by side and slightly spaced relation with the tanks of the other pair, a roll reciprocable in each tank, an oscillatory shaft mounted at each end of each tank beyond the travel of said roll, scraping` means carried by each shaft, the shafts of each tank projecting into the space between the pairs of tanks, and mechanism in said space for connecting said shafts and oscillating them.

12. Relining apparatus, comprising, two pairs of conge tanks, the tanks of each pair being longitudinally alined in end to end relation and the tanks of one pair being mounted in side by side and slightly spaced relation with the tanks of the other pair, a roll reciprocable in each tank, an oscillatory shaft mounted at each end of each tank beyond the travel of said roll, scraping means carried by each shaft, the shafts of each tank projecting into the space between the pairs of tanks, a crank arm on each shaft and located in said space, a connecting rod to which all said cranks are conected, and means for reciprocating said ro 13. Refining apparatus, comprising, two pairs of conge tanks, the tanks of each pair being longitudinally alined in end to end relation and the tanks of one pair being mounted in side by side and slightly spaced relation with the tanks of the other pair, a roll reciprocable in each tank, an oscillatory shaft mounted at each end of each tank beyond the travel of said roll, scraping means carried by each shaft, the shafts of each tank projecting into the space between the pairs of tanks, and mechanism in said space for connecting said shafts and oscillating them and means provided on the conge tanks to overlie said mechanism and cover said space.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

ALONZO L. BAUSMAN. 

